Loudoun law enforcement, public safety professionals honored for exemplary work

Law enforcement and pedestrian public safety officials at Friday’s awards ceremony. Courtesy Photo/Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office held its internal 2016 Awards and Recognition Ceremony Friday, recognizing "the day-to-day efforts of members of the agency for their service and dedication to the community," according to the LCSO.

This year’s awards also recognized representatives from several local law enforcement agencies, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue and citizens.

According to the sheriff's office, the awards and recognition program allows members of the agency to nominate their co-workers, partners in law enforcement, and citizens for efforts that often go unrecognized. The nominations are then reviewed by an awards committee. The awarded categories for this year included the Meritorious Service Award, the Meritorious Action Award, the Sheriff’s Excellence Award, the Commendation Award, the Distinguished Training Officer Award and the Master Deputy Program Achievement Award.

Meritorious Service Award: Recognizes performance by a member within the scope of normal responsibilities, but performed in such a manner as to deserve special recognition.

Detective Patrick Beaver for exceptional work in the field of Internet Crimes against Children.

Master Deputy Todd Bailey for exceptional service to the Sheriff’s Office Canine Unit acting as the section coordinator while also being the sections Master Trainer.

Meritorious Action Award: Recognizes an individual, or team of individuals, who have demonstrated exemplary action in response to a specific situation of an emergency nature, or as part of a routine event, where the member’s exceptional performance merits special recognition.

Captain Bruce Domin, Lieutenant Craig Schleiden, Sergeant Howard Craig, Deputy First Class Daniel Martynowicz, Deputy First Class Eric Venne, PFC Leonard Marcaro II-Fairfax County Police, PFC Craig Thibault-Fairfax County Police, Pilot Michael Mountjoy-Fairfax County Police for their quick response to a single vehicle accident where the driver had wandered from the vehicle in freezing temperatures, search efforts located the driver in a dense wooded area and provided lifesaving measures.

Sergeant William Leonard for his quick response to a medical emergency, performing CPR on an adult who had lost consciousness, subsequently saving a life.

Sergeant Justin Maas and Deputy Casey Johnson for successfully deescalating an autistic teenager who was threatening suicide with a weapon.

Master Deputy William Schoeb, Deputy First Class Ryan Hamilton, Donna Morgan-Dispatcher, Jeff Kish-Dispatcher, Sergeant Robert Wagner-Purcellville Police, Officer Paul Kakol-Purcellville Police, PFC Christopher Loftus-Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office in recognition of their actions during a domestic-related incident involving a juvenile that has stabbed the father and fled on foot. Through multi-jurisdictional efforts the juvenile was located prior to any additional incidents.

Dispatcher Mary Russell for her actions in dealing with a 911 call from a male that was threatening suicide but would not provide any information as to their location, through continue communication and technology the male was located and was able to gain lifesaving assistance.

Deputy Colin Whittington for performing CPR on an unconscious male which ultimately led to a positive outcome.

Deputy First Class Victor LoPreto, Mr. Michael Flack, Mrs. Wanda Lee Flack, Mr. Marcellus Hay Jajoe IV, Lieutenant Jake Everly-Loudoun County Fire and Rescue, Firefighter William Green-Loudoun County Fire and Rescue, Firefighter Zack Kline-Loudoun County Fire and Rescue, Firefighter Raymond Snoots-Loudoun County Fire and Rescue, Technician Donald Keatly-Loudoun County Fire and Rescue, Technician James Best-Loudoun County Fire and Rescue for handling a vehicle crash involving a wanted subject who was disoriented and armed with a knife. The subject had multiple self-inflicted wounds and was attempting to flee the scene.

Sergeant Paul Medonich, Deputy Dustin Woomer, Deputy Adrian Smith for their quick actions and professional handling of an inmate who was attempting suicide. Due to swift action, the inmate was restrained and provided with mental health assistance.

Deputy First Class Todd Wilson, Deputy First Class Joe Rosado, Deputy Donnell Void for their quick actions taken during an attempted suicide where an adult was attempting to strangle himself. The deputies restrained the individual and provided life saving measures.

Sheriff’s Excellence Award: Recognizes senior, civilian, supervisors and senior, front line, sworn supervisors for superior job knowledge, devotion to duty, and dedication to the community and the agency.

Sergeant Todd Smedley for outstanding work on numerous projects, overall working knowledge of the Sheriff’s Office, and willingness to respond to the Adult Detention Center to ensure operational readiness.

Sergeant William Nugent for outstanding work on coordinating special events, unique service demands, and willingness to respond to traffic complaints while working with surrounding jurisdictions to ensure operational effectiveness.

Master Deputy Program Achievement Award: Recognizes deputies with the Master Deputy Program for superior job knowledge, devotion to duty specifically related to career path, dedication to those they serve, and loyalty to the Sheriff’s Office.

Master Deputy Allen Angel for displayed values and attributes of superior job knowledge and devotion to duty over an extended period of time to the Civil Enforcement Section, routinely being called upon to provide training and understanding of Civil Enforcement Laws.

Master Deputy Michael Grimsley for displayed values and attributes of superior job knowledge and devotion to duty over an extended period of time to the Criminal Investigations Section where he leads others in criminal investigations. In addition to his regular case load, he is the Crisis Negotiations Commander.

Master Deputy Linda Swope for taking on the duties and responsibilities of the Juvenile Resource Section in the absence of the section supervisor, to include handling two major projects which include the McGruff Safety Camp and the DARE program.

Distinguished Training Officer Award: Recognizes Training Officers who consistently demonstrate distinguished performance in the area of training within their respective division.

Dispatcher Janice Pietsch for demonstrating excellence as a Training Officer and developing continued educational training.

Mary Ann Curzi for her expertise, professionalism, and dedication to the Employment Services Section. She processes over 3,800 application annually, plans and coordinates the Physical Abilities Assessments, and processes all new hire for the agency.

Emir Bekric for the excellent organizational skills and professionalism to coordinate and manage the agencies Citizens Police Academy. He has worked tirelessly to develop and maintain positive relationships with many cultural communities throughout the County of Loudoun.

Commendation Award: Awarded by the Sheriff to any individual or team of individuals, for an act that materially contributes to the accomplishment of Sheriff’s office goals or for an act that warrants special recognition in the public interest.

Sergeant Joshua Lowder, Detective Tyler Brown, Deputy First Class Garry Epple, Deputy First Class Milton Castelle for their tireless efforts to solve a string of burglaries, vehicle tampering’s, and destruction of properties throughout the County of Loudoun.

Sergeant William Leonard for his investigation into a series of burglarizes where he was able to link the suspects to over twenty burglaries, and an armed robbery throughout Loudoun, Prince William, Fairfax and Fauquier counties ultimately leading to a successful prosecution.

The Awards and Recognition Ceremony was held in the School Board Meeting Room of the Loudoun County Public Schools Administration Building. Among those in attendance were Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman, members of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office command staff, County Administrator Tim Hemstreet, Catoctin District Supervisor Geary Higgins, Sterling District Supervisor Koran Saines, Assistant Fire Chief Keith Johnson, Executive Director of the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy Dave Vice, and representatives from the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, the Fairfax County Police Department Flight Crew and the Town of Leesburg Police Department.

The Awards and Recognition program was developed in 2010.

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